


Equal Love

by SmallTimeWriter



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:01:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23012176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmallTimeWriter/pseuds/SmallTimeWriter
Summary: She was worried that she would fail to love them both equally.
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan, Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard & Emma Swan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Equal Love

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time, all credit goes to the creators and the writers.

Emma ran her hands over her baby bump, watching in the mirror as her dress smoothed out around the shape of her body. Despite being almost full term she hadn't gotten used to the look. Still unable to feel pride when wearing outfits that showed off the bump.

She wasn't ashamed of the little one she was carry, after all things were different this time around...not that she had been ashamed of Henry either but with his pregnancy she had hidden beneath baggy clothes to conceal it from others. 

Looking in the mirror she saw the book on the bed behind her, Henry's baby album. Regina had given it to her so that she was able to witness his childhood through photographs. The photos of him as a baby sleeping peacefully, a toddler covered in pancake batter, a pre-schooler learning to ride without training wheels, his first day of school. Moments she had missed because she had chosen to give him up for adoption. 

Guilt. 

It was just one of the emotions that had consumed her body this pregnancy. She had given Henry up so that he was able to have the live that he deserved, not the life that she could provide and when she had handed him over to the nurse she had made herself a promise, that never again would she fall pregnant. To her it wasn't fair to have one child that she gave away and another that she had kept. It might not have been a rational thought but it was hers, and as a young girl back then, it seemed to make sense. 

"Emma."

Hearing her mothers voice from the opposite side of the door pulled her from her thoughts, but Emma couldn't speak knowing that if she did then her voice would five her away. For almost nine months she had hidden these thoughts, her insecurities and doubts, not wishing to confide in anyone. 

"Emma, your guests are arriving." Her mother knocked on the door once more, before opening it. 

Emma jumped at the sudden intrusion, but she could see her mothers slightly panicked expression. "I'm fine." She reassured. 

"You didn't answer, I got worried. Didn't you hear me calling?"

"Uh, yeah." Emma mumbled her hands dropping from her baby bump, turning to face her mother. "Who is here?"

Snow frowned, her daughters aura was off, it had been for the past many months but she always thought that Emma would approach her when the time seemed fitting. "Emma, is everything alright?" 

"I'm fine." It was like an automatic response programmed into her, the same one she had been giving through her entire pregnancy despite knowing it wasn't the case. She felt as thought it was her battle to fight, a problem within herself that only she could fix. "Really mom, I'm fine." 

Snow sat on the edge of the bed watching her adult daughter as she attempted to finish getting ready. For this entire pregnancy, she had been waiting for her daughter to talk to her, because as her mother that was what she was for, a confident to speak to. No judgement. "Emma, you can talk to me, I'll listen, you know that."

"Nothing is..." Emma watched her mothers eyes dart towards the baby bump, clearly indicating that she knew. "Mom."

"I've noticed Emma, and I know you've tried incredibly hard to fight it but I know because I felt the same way. All the fears that you have running through your mind, I had when I was pregnant with your brother." Her expression softened when she noticed Henry's baby book on the bed. "What you did for Henry, giving him up was a courageous act that allowed him to have the life you couldn't provide. And he did have a wonderful childhood, Regina really doted on him." She smiled. "Don't feel guilty for it Emma, you are here now and he is happy, loved and safe. That is what you should be focusing on, that is what is important."

Emma sighed, sitting down at her vanity, facing her mother. "It's not just Henry..."

"You wonder if you can love another child as much as you love Henry. The answer is yes." Snow stood up and walked over to her daughter, touching her cheek gently. "There is enough love to go around. It might be a different kind but it will be no more or no less, it will be equal. Oh, Emma, you shouldn't have to bear this alone, you could have come to me."

Emma blushed slightly, despite having her world turned upside down when Henry came to her door, she still wasn't used to having parents that actually cared for her. "They were my insecurities, my doubts."

"You are independent and stubborn, a lot like me but that doesn't mean it isn't okay to rely on others. If you spoke to me, then I would have told you what an incredible mother you are, and will continue to be for this baby." 

"What if I fail? I have you now but I never had a mother growing up. What if I can't do this from the beginning? I don't know anything about babies." 

"No one is ever ready to be a parent Emma, lord knows I wasn't ready for you, or even for Neal but you just seem to know. It will come naturally and I'll be here to help as will your father, and of course you have Hook. You're not alone Emma; and you'll never be alone again."

Emma stood up, grabbing her mother in a tight hug, trying not to squish her stomach but needing this moment. "I love you." She didn't say those words often to her parents, not even regularly to Hook. The one person she constantly said it too was Henry. "I needed to hear that."

"That's what I am for, I love you Emma." Snow kissed her daughters cheek. "Come on, your baby shower awaits."

"I'll be out in a moment, I just need a minute alone."

Snow nodded in understanding. "Take your time." She walked out of Emma's room and closed the door. 

Emma found herself standing in front of the mirror again, her hands on her baby bump. She was bigger this time, with Henry she had been tiny. Taking a moment she smoothed her dress and allowed herself time to really study her growing figure. "I'm sorry, little bean, but from this moment forward I promise things are going to be better. The love I have for your brother will never compromise my love for you, and I promise to always do right by you. This is going to be a learning curve for us both but we'll make it through. Especially with the family we have supporting us." She smiled a bit at her reflection. It was going to be okay, all she needed was a little faith, a little hope that her future was going to be fine. "I love you, little one." 

**Author's Note:**

> What do you think? 
> 
> This was written years ago, but never published here. I have a few Once Upon A Time stories on my profile if you would like to check them out. 
> 
> Much Love. x


End file.
